oldfarthenry:I didn't think people lived to their 30's three-hundred years ago?Dropping dead early was quite the fad back then.

To some degree, but most of the low life-expectancy figures of the time (or, for that matter, throughout history) actually came from infant mortality dragging down the average. Up at the top end, things haven't actually changed all that much.

WienerButt:My 23 year old girlfriend just told me she cannot have children.

/did not try to get into the details with her//I'm 27

My sister in law was told the same thing . So they adopted, and then she promptly got pregnant. Same thing happened to a friend of my wife's. So, the power of anecdotes says to take the "cannot have children" with a grain of salt. Especially if you're considering not using birth control with your gf.

First one was at 30 for her and the second was 2 years later. She keeps saying at least one more, but I don't think I have the hair for it. Lost/pulled most of it out...oh well knowing that she is the one in charge of when we do it.... I'm sure a third will happen eventually.

I'm 46, and when I saw my gynecologist on Monday and mentioned that I've just become sexually active again after a 16-year dry spell, she jumped all over me about birth control. (I had planned to ask about getting my tubes tied anyway, the only reason I didn't do it sooner was there wasn't any need.) She said, "You can still get pregnant! I see women your age with surprise pregnancies all the time!"

So I'm guessing fertility for most women in their 30s isn't much of an issue. Not that anecdotal evidence proves anything.

ManRay:Bedstead Polisher: My grandmother mentioned the other day that after age 30 women have a higher chance of problems during pregnancy/with the baby.Which is great to hear as a 34 year old single lady.

anecdotally, my wife and I have noticed around 40% of couples in our circle of friends have had difficulty conceiving a child. The only common thing between those couples seems to be age...The ones that were not able to have kids without IVF etc were all over 35.

/CSB time...My wife was told by her OB/GYN when she was in her early 20's that it was unlikely that she could have children, so she had been prepared for difficulty for many years. Yet when we got married and actually tried, it was only 6 months for baby #1 and then 3 years later it took only 1 month for baby #2.My wife feels very bad for these other potential mothers who all basically assumed the could have children easily and are struggling.

Sharksfan:Got married at 32, my wife was 34. Two years later decided to try for a kid - and on month two she got pregnant. I was expecting more "trying".

That one was born, no problem.

We decide to try for #2 when my wife is 36. Miscarriage (blighted/failed ovum) at 9 weeks. That was followed by a miscarriage at 10 weeks, followed by a failed pregnancy at 14 weeks.

By this point she's 40, I'm 38. We decide to try one more time. Karma steps in.....and now our twins are two and the first one is 6.

Life: Do not take it too seriously. It will fark with you the first chance it gets.

When my wife first had a positive pregnancy test, the ultrasound started out showing one child and a "blighted ovum" a.k.a. an egg sac with nothing in it. That little "blighted ovum" is teething like a champ overe here, and fighting over toys with her twin sister.

Moral of the story: Always have them double-check the blighted ovum thing. I'm sure we were the exception to the rule, but what an exception!

For those of you having challenges with getting pregnant, let me pass along something our fertility doc told us. If they put you on Clomid, it has many side effects one of which is increasing the viscosity of the woman's mucous. This can keep the sperm from getting where they need to go. The doc had us combine taking the clomid with regular old, over-the-counter mucinex, and boom we've got twins. Not saying that'll work for everyone, but it certainly worked for us after multiple failed attempts with Clomid alone.

YixilTesiphon:I exist because my parents thought they couldn't have children without Clomid or whatever pill they used in the 70s. Mom was 39 at the time and one day noticed "Holy shiat, I have a baby kicking".

Are you a 2nd child?

A lot of women that require clomid the first time to get preggers don't afterwards. Giving birth once reboots the system.

Lots of women who needed medical help the first time end up getting pregnant again because no one warned them that they may be naturally fertile after giving birth once.

Xlr8urfark:Don't some women produce more eggs than normal when just getting off BC? Have nothing to back that up so may just be an old wives tale.

That's not really how it works, but it's true that going off BC can throw your cycle out of whack for a little while if you'd been on it for a long time. It generally returns to normal (whatever normal means) fairly quickly: a couple of months or so.

Statistically, yeah, it's easier to knock up a 20 yr old than a 30 or 40 yr old. There's also a lower chance of birth defects, yadda yadda yadda.

Not impossible, just easier. I remember my cousin's husband talking about 'fertile myrtle' (no, her name wasn't really myrtle thank god) in reference to her in her 20's. 5 kids in 6 years with no help. She decided she wanted one more at 37, and it took a year for her to get knocked up.

That's statistics. That's why young women were always more 'valuable' because nature's first green is gold. (Robert Frost)